Panel-board.



Patented May 31, 1910.

2 SHEBTSSHI;ET 1.

PANEL BOARD.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 20, 1908.

E- N. LAKE & J. CUTHBERT.

d n W 5 wifnesss:

E. N. LAKE & J. OUTHBERT.

PANEL BOARD. I APPLICATION FILEDMAR. 20, 1908. 959,762. Patented May31,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD N. LAKE, or WHEATON, AND JOHN cnrrrnnn'r, or emeaeo, ILLINOIS.

- PANEL-BOARD.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD N..LAKE and JOHN CUTHBERT, citizens of theUnited States of America, and residents, respectively, of lVheaton,county of Dupage, and of Chicago, county of Cook, in the State ofIllinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Panel-Boards, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention pertains to panel boards designed for distribution ofelectrical power to a plurality of premises within a single building, orfor distribution of electrical power under analogous conditions, andequipped with meters for measuring the consumption of power by eachtenant.

Our object is to provide improved facilities for the connection of themeters and for the switching of the load circuits among the meters.

In connection with a panel board having terminals for the load circuitsand terminals for the connection of meters, we provide: Aninterconnecting meter switchboard of the plug-switching type, whereby byasingle plug any load circuit may be caused to draw its current throughany desired meter, and whereby a plurality of load circuits may beswitched to the same meter.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a section of a panel-board associatedwith a meter switchboard of our invention, the section being taken onthe line A A of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 shows a front elevation of the same withtwo meters connected; Fig. 3 shows a side .elevation of the meterswitchboard and discloses the detail of the plug switching devicewhereby meters and load circuits are interconnected; Fig. 4 shows adetail of the switching plug.

The panelboard shown is mounted. in a containing case 1. The slab 2 ofinsulating material carries bus bars 3, 1,5, switches 6, fuses 7, a mainswitch 8, main fuses 9, and main terminals 10. Adjacent to the switches6, holes 11 are drilled through the slab 2 for convenience in runningthe load circuit Wires and meter connection wires; all switches 6 areconnected through fuses '7 and auxiliary bus bars 12 to the bus bar 3.Bus bars 4 and 5 are connected to terminal bars 13 through fuses 14:.Bus bar 3 is extended at 15 to offer a terminal for connection of meterpressure wires. An isolated terminal 18 is connected through one of thefuses 7 to one side of switch 6, the switch 6 side of the load circuitto the isolated terminal 18. This isolated terminal 18 we call a loadcircuit terminal, considering that the load circuit passes from the busbar 3 to and through the load or power consuming devices and returningto the terminal 18 where for the purpose of applying our invention weconceive the load circuit to terminate.

Each meter is connected by a wire 27 from the series coil through aterminal bar as 13 and fuse 14 to the desired bus bar. The pressureterminal of the meter is'connec'ted to the terminal 15. The metercircuit remains adapted for connection from its free terminal to theload circuit terminal 18 of any desired load circuit to complete acircuit whereby the load will draw electrical current through the meter.

In connection with a panelboard as above described, we provide aplug-switch interconnecting device for meters and load circuitterminals, as follows: Near the edge of the slab 2 are non-conductingslabs 1920 perpendicular to the slab 2 and these slabs form the basisfor the plug switch device by which the load circuits are connectedamong the meters. The transverse bar 16 is connected through the screw21 to the angle bar 22 which lies upon the outside of the slab 19perpendicular to the slab 2; at the other end the transverse conductingbar 16 is similarly connected to the angle bar 23. Fastened upon theinner face of the slab 19 and par allel to the surface of the slab 2 aremeter bus bars 24, one for each meter installed.

These meter bus bars may be in part upon the slab 19 and in part uponthe slab 20 if so desired, when the number of meters is so great thatthe bus bars required would be more than could be installed convenientlyupon one of the slabs. An additional insulating slab 25 may be placedover the meter bus bars to protect them from accidental contact if sodesired. Each meter bus bar has a terminal 26 upon the outside surfaceof the slab 19 or 20. In meters of the wattmeter type, both series andbridged circuits are required, the series'circuit being connected frombar 13 through wire 27 through Specification of Letters Patent. PatentedMfay 31, 1910, Application filed March 20, 1908. Serial No. 422,215. 7

the meter and thence through wire 28 to sear-ea slab so as to render theface of said main slab and both sides of said auxiliary slabsimultaneously accessible to the manipulator of the panelboard,substantially as desc ibed.

3. In a panelboard, a structure comprising two insulating slabs thefirst of which is a main slab and comparatively broad, and the second ofwhich is an auxiliary slab and narrow as compared with said main slab;bus power terminals and circuit-controlling switches located upon saidmain slab; loadterrninal bars located upon one side of said auxiliaryslab; road circuits extending from a first bus power terminal andthrough a switch and adapted to extend thence by house wiring to andthrough the load merits and return, and thence extending to saidload-terminal bars; meter-terminal bars located upon the other side ofsaid auxiliary slab; meter circuits extendin from a second bus powerterminal and through a meter to said meter-terminal bars; and means forinterconnecting said load terminal and said meter-terminal bars; saidmain slab and said auxiliary slab being set at an angle to each other soas to render the face of: said main slab and both sides ofsaid auxiliaryslab simultaneously accessible to the manipulator of the panelboard,substantially as descrilwd.

4. In a panehboard, a structure comprising two insulating slabs, thefirst or" which is a main slab and comparatively broad, and the secondof which is an auxiliary slab and narrow as compared with said mainslab; bus power terminals and circuit-controlling switches located uponsaid main slab; loadterrninal bars located upon one side of saidauxiliary slab; load circuits extending from a first bus power terminaland through a switch. and adapted to extend thence by house wiring toand through the load elements and return. and thence extending to saidload-terminal bars; Ineter-terminal bars located upon the other side ofsaid auxiliary slab; meter circuits extending from a second bus powerterminal and through a meter and to said meter-terminal bars; and switchplugs passing through said auxiliary also and interconnecting saidloadterininal and said meter-terminal bars; said main said auxiliaryslab being set at an angle to each other so as to render the race of linain slab and, both sides of said auxi slab simultaneously acc-ssihleto the manipulator of the panelhoard substantially described 5 in aswitchboard two plates of insulating mat rial; terminal bars or twoclasses; the bars of one class being included betwee said two plates ofinsulatin material and the bars of the second class cing mounted uponthe outer face off one of said insulating plates and runningtransversely or saidfirst bars; said insulating plate thus included.hetween the two classes of bars beingJpre: vided with holes through theplate, one hole at each crossing of any two bars of the two classesrespectively, said bars also being perforated to correspond with suchholes in the insulating plate; and switch plugs adapted to pass throughany outer bar and to screw into an inner bar, thereby constitutmg auniversal switch for connecting two bars of difierent classes,substantially as described.

v S gned by. us at ljhicago, county of Sock and State of Illinois in thepresence of two witnesses.

EDWARD N, LAK JOE-ll? GUTHBEM? Witnesses DAVID llimrisir, l-iiinvsr i1.Hanson.

